


Comb

by hufflepuff_true



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Comfort, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Fluff, Gen, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-02-10
Packaged: 2018-01-10 23:46:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hufflepuff_true/pseuds/hufflepuff_true
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili comes to Bilba for comfort on the road to Erebor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comb

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bead/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Head Canon Snippets for OTP Bagginshield.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033535) by [Bead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bead/pseuds/Bead). 



> This was inspired by one of Bead's head canon about Kili. I really loved it and this idea wouldn't leave me alone until I got it all out. Hopefully you all like it.

“Bilba? Can I - can I ask you something?” Bilba looked up from her mending to see Kili standing over her. He seemed very nervous.

“Of course you can. Sit down,” she patted the spot next to her and watched him slip down. He didn’t say anything for several moments, so she went back to her mending. It was one of those rare nights were they were safe, warm, and with full stomachs. It was peaceful; she could wait for him to gather his thoughts.

“You were a respectable hobbit in the shire… weren’t you?” Bilba thought that was a rather odd question but answered it anyway.

“I suppose I was as respectable as one could expect the daughter of Belladonna Took could be.”

Kili gave her a questioning look. What did her mother have to do with her being respectable?

Bilba smiled and tried to explain, “The Tooks are known for being the least hobbity hobbits in the Shire. Always off doing things that no other hobbit would consider doing. My mother was one of the worst; walked nearly the whole way to the Blue Mountains. By herself, mind you, just to say that she had. Would have made it, too, if she hadn’t had to turn back. There was a fire in the forest that year.”

Kili was shocked, vaguely remembering such a fire. Men had set the fire to burn some refuse and it got out of control. Bilba’s mother had walked that far? From the Shire, alone?

“That’s amazing. So, you weren’t as respectable as you made yourself out to be?” Kili wasn’t sure if there was any other way to ask.

“Kili, my respectability went out the window when I allowed thirteen male dwarves and a wizard into my home late at night. And then ran off with them the next morning,” She smiled, the sting falling short.

He paused and thought some more. She didn’t know what her respectability had to do with what he wanted to know, but Bilba allowed him his time.

She’d almost come to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to ask or say what he wanted and there wasn’t much more mending for her to fuss over as he set there beside her when he asked her, “Bilba, would you comb my hair?”

Bilba barely caught the last of it, the words becoming more muffled and low. It wasn’t the question she was expecting. She had learned early on that the care of someone’s hair and beard were left only to family and the one you married. She wasn’t family and she most certainly wasn’t the one he married.

Pretending to fold and sort the clothes that she mended, Bilba causally asked, “Why?”

Kili swallowed thickly. “When I was little and things weren‘t going so well, my mother would comb her fingers through my hair. I never had nightmares when she did that. Fili tries but his hands are too big and he gets his fingers tangled and-”

He was working himself up, trying to explain why he was asking her to do something that they both knew was normally frowned upon. The others had just started to look their way when Bilba shushed him, calming him down. Getting him to take a breath. It saddened her that he was so distressed to ask her for this comfort.

“Kili, after all we’ve been through together on this journey, I think that we’re as close as family could ever be. If this helps you, then to hell with respectability. You are more important.” he stared at her, eyes watering.

“Thank you, Bilba.” She smiled at him. Patting him on the arm, she rose to distribute the mending that she had finished from their last long trek. After they were all returned to the rightful owners, Bilba went to her bedroll and gathered her things together. Normally she slept slightly separately from the others to gain a little privacy. Now the bedroll was moved over with Fili and Kili’s. If anyone had any thoughts on the move, they said nothing.

No one stayed up much longer. As nice as this night might be, they’d have to be moving on in the morning. Fili was curious but didn’t ask when he went to his bedroll, curling up and dozing off with surprising efficiency.

Kili dithered for a bit. By the time he’d finally made it over to Bilba and his brother everyone else barring Thorin and Dwalin, who were off a ways on watch, were sound asleep.

Finally he laid down on his bedroll, glancing between her and the sky. She knew that there would be no way to convince him to relax. Settling down on the corner of her bedroll, Bilba calmly started to work her fingers through the ends Kili’s dark hair, slowly working up towards his scalp.

As she did this she started to hum the tune to an old Shire lullaby. It was soft and soothing, though she didn’t dare sing the words aloud. It was embarrassing enough to him that he’d asked for this comfort like he was a dwarfling, to sing a song promising him pretty horses once he woke would be a blow to his pride that Bilba did not want to deal. It was soothing either way. By the time she reached his scalp Kili had really and truly relaxed.

His eyes fluttered shut. His breath evened out and deepened. Still, she didn’t stop. Kili was by far the youngest in their group. He didn’t have the same tough shell that his uncle and elder brother had developed. Things hit him harder than most. Bilba knew that it cost him dearly to ask her to help him through the night, but in a way she was glad. She wanted to help him if he needed it. She cared about all of them.

Nearly an hour later, her hand slowed. The fire had died down, leaving the embers glowing sleepily. He’d well and truly relaxed, snuffling lightly in his sleep. Bilba slowly reversed the process, starting at his scalp and working her way to the ends. She stopped completely once she reached them. He would sleep peacefully now.

Moving more fully to her pallet, she glanced around the camp one last time. Everyone was sleeping restfully. Sighing, she snuggled down into her blanket and drifted off to sleep; unaware that Thorin had been watching and now gazed at her with curiosity and warmth.


End file.
